Legal restrictions on abortion-related travel are at the center of a new law in Idaho, with Gov. Brad Little signing into law on Wednesday that makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for an adult to assist a minor an abortion without parental consent.
In response, two doctors and a regional partner of Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit over the state’s new interpretation of a separate anti-abortion law because the attorney general says it prohibits doctors from even referring patients to abortion providers outside of the state. stands.
This “abortion trafficking” law is the first of its kind in the US. It makes it illegal to obtain abortion pills for a minor or help them leave the state for an abortion without their parents’ knowledge and consent.
Gov. Little said in a letter that the new law does not prohibit adults from traveling across state lines to have an abortion, but rather seeks to prevent minors from traveling for the procedure without the knowledge of their parents or guardian.
“We have seen how quickly harmful legislation can catch on and spread across the country. Here in Idaho, we are going to do everything we can to stop it,” Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, the Idaho State Director of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement.
Idaho Governor Brad Little wrote in a letter that the new law does not restrict adults traveling out of state from having an abortion
Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, the Idaho State Director of Planned Parenthood, pictured here, described the bill as the “most extreme” she’s ever seen
Protesters stand in front of the Idaho Supreme Court building in downtown Boise in October 2022
Idaho is one of 13 states that have already effectively banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and is one of the few states that already have laws penalizing those who help people of any age get abortions.
State leaders in blue states like Washington, Oregon and California have promoted the West Coast as a safe haven for abortions, and lawmakers in Oregon and Washington are considering bills to protect abortion providers and patients from criminal liability.
Oregon’s bill would allow doctors to perform abortions on anyone, regardless of age, and would bar them from disclosing that information to parents in certain cases.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, thirty-six states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion, though most allow exceptions under certain circumstances, such as medical emergencies.
On Tuesday, Wisconsin voters elected liberal Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court, handing control to a liberal majority pending rulings on an abortion ban and other issues that could play a role in the 2024 presidential election.
The wide margin of Protasiewicz’s victory in an otherwise highly contested state suggests that Democrats have continued to benefit politically from the Roe decision, which brought motivated voters to the polls.
Protasiewicz put abortion at the center of her campaign, saying in an ad that she supports “a woman’s freedom to make her own decision about abortion.” Kelly, meanwhile, gained the endorsement of anti-abortion groups.
Republicans also performed below expectations last November in the first national election since the court struck down Roe.
Idaho is one of 13 states that have already effectively banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and is one of the few states that already have laws penalizing those who help people of any age get abortions
Anyone convicted faces two to five years in prison and may also be prosecuted by the minor’s parent or guardian
DelliCarpini-Tolman said Planned Parenthood will continue to explore “every angle we can to fight this legislation.”
“House Bill 242 may be the most extreme bill I’ve ever seen in my career,” she also said.
Idaho’s new law was written in par by Megan Wold, a Right to Life Idaho lobbyist who formerly served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, according to The New York Times.
Anyone convicted faces two to five years in prison and may also be prosecuted by the minor’s parent or guardian.
Parents who raped their child cannot sue, although criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor get an abortion remain in effect.
The law also gives the attorney general the ability to prosecute someone for alleged law violations, even if the state prosecutor — who would normally be responsible for filing a criminal case — refuses to prosecute.
To circumvent the violation of a constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho law only makes the internal portion of a trip to an out-of-state abortion provider illegal.
Still, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America wrote in a press release that the law raises urgent concerns about the state’s legal ability to prevent residents from traveling to neighboring states to access abortion care.
The law will isolate and endanger young people, including those in abusive situations, said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“They will stop at nothing to monitor what we do and where we go — even if it means holding people hostage when they try to access essential health services,” McGill Johnson wrote in the release.
Idaho, like many other states, has multiple abortion laws on the books.
Wisconsin Supreme Court nominee Janet Protasiewicz has won a 10-year term
Two Idaho doctors and a regional partner of Planned Parenthood filed suit Wednesday over the state’s interpretation of another strict abortion ban that unconstitutionally restricts interstate travel for abortions.
The strict prohibition makes it illegal for doctors to “use any means to intentionally terminate a woman’s clinically detectable pregnancy” if they know the termination will reasonably cause the death of the unborn child.
The strict ban came into effect shortly after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last summer.
A legal advisory released late last month by the state’s new attorney general, Raul Labrador, says the ban also prohibits healthcare providers in Idaho from writing prescriptions for abortion drugs that patients in other states could pick up, or even give them. by referring to a healthcare provider across state lines for abortion services.
drs. Caitlin Gustafson and Darin Weyrich and Planned Parenthood Great Northwest are all represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho.
They say the attorney general’s interpretation of the law violates the freedom of speech of the First Amendment and the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Commerce Clause generally prohibits states from imposing major roadblocks on interstate commerce or attempting to regulate out-of-state activities that are legal in the state where they occur.
It’s possible that any ruling in the new lawsuit could also affect the “human trafficking” law, as it too seeks to impose restrictions on interstate travel.